Historic Landmark

Categories Diplomatic History, Historic Landmark, Historic Preservation, Legation Tales, Museum, OBO, TALIM, Tangier, Uncategorized

Architectural History of the Legation Now Available on Archnet

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TALIM on Archnet
TALIM on Archnet

Section II, “Architectural and Historical Context and Significance” of the of the Historic Structure Report on the American Legation in Tangier, Morocco is now available on Archnet.  You can find it by going to the the page for TALIM and selecting the link above the description labeled “Publication.”

This section of the report explains the historical and architectural significance of the structure, beginning with a general diplomatic history of Tangier. It then provides a functional and architectural history of the Legation building, including the modifications to the building, starting when the United States and Morocco first began negotiations, through the acquisition of Legation in 1821, damage to the property during bombardments of Tangier, expansions by the consul in the 1920s, the role of the Legation during World War II, and finally the conversion into a museum in 1975-1976. Finally it ends with an assessment of the current condition of the property. It is illustrated with historic images and plans.

Read moreArchitectural History of the Legation Now Available on Archnet

Categories Cultural Diplomacy, Historic Landmark, Museum, Research Center, TALIM

Circles: Meet the New Director

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Former Director Loftus opened the Legation to Zankat America

Thirty-one years ago last month, a group of sixty-plus Peace Corps trainees arrived in Rabat, following a nearly 24-hour trip from Philadelphia via Paris.  It was already night as we drove in from the airport, and it was Ramadan.  The streets were packed, but our bus eventually made its way to the Bulima Hotel in the center of Rabat.  Unable to sleep, I wandered down Blvd Mohammed V to the medina, and entered a new world of sights, sounds and smells.   Thus began my own “beautiful friendship” with Morocco.

After spending two years teaching English at Lycée Laymoune in Berkane (and also visiting the American Legation in 1984), I began a diplomatic career that took me from Guinea-Bissau to Singapore, Madagascar to Tunisia, Cairo to New York City, and finally Niger and New Delhi.  Working subsequently for the United Nations also allowed me to work in lovely, lyrical Cape Verde.  Now I’ve come full circle and will begin a new adventure as Director of the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies.

Read moreCircles: Meet the New Director

Categories Diplomatic History, Historic Landmark, Legation Tales, Museum, Tangier

A Virtual Tour for Ambassador Peck

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Pavilion cedar doors, re-sculpted 2013
Pavilion cedar doors, re-sculpted 2013

This is a “guest post” by Ambassador Edward Peck, who returned to Tangier on May 1 on board a cruise ship, and had been hoping to show Mrs. Peck the place where he and several other future US ambassadors had studied Arabic over fifty years ago.

He found our doors closed.  Disappointment all around – we were so looking forward, as the Pecks were, to a trip down memory lane.  Since the visit unfortunately didn’t happen, here’s a virtual tour of the Legation in photos (featuring some Legation exhibits that have just been opened), along with Ambassador Peck’s narrative of his return to Tangier.

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One of the first six students who attended FSI’s Arabic Language School in the old Legation building when it opened in 1961, I was both pleasantly surprised and extremely impressed by the view of Tangier from the sea as our ship arrived on May Day 2014.

Read moreA Virtual Tour for Ambassador Peck

Categories Cultural Diplomacy, Diplomatic History, Historic Landmark, Historic Preservation, OBO

Culturally Significant, Symbolically Strategic

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According to the Secretary of State, the Tangier American Legation is the preeminent “Culturally Significant Property.” But we symbolize much more: engagement with the Arab, Muslim, and African worlds, starting during the American Revolution.